I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Wendy and I have decided not to venture to Florida until we are vaccinated and it has been nice to enjoy the lake in the winter months. We do have friends, including a former resident from Fiddlers Lane, who have already been vaccinated in Florida. Lots of walking, cross country skiing, skating and use of the ATV to pass the time. 

I thought I would take this opportunity to update you on recent activity and engagement by your BPOA Board of Directors.

Road Safety:

This committee under the direction of Bruce Johnson has been active in the late fall and early winter. A big thank you to Bruce as chair and his committee of Daniel Miskin, Jeff Chalmers and Jim Coyle. We all have noticed a significant increase in pedestrian traffic this winter and it makes it very important for all of us as drivers of vehicles to be extra careful. Birchview Road is our sidewalk. There are no shoulders for pedestrians to take safety if necessary, the roads are slippery in winter and we have many blind hills and blind corners. There are also construction trucks parked on the road which can obscure sight lines. It has been pointed out by daily walkers on the road that although we should walk on the left side of the road, as normal protocol would suggest, that it is actually safer to go to the other side of the road as you approach blind hills and blind corners. Please be careful and be mindful of others using the road.

Thomas Tooke from Tooke Construction Services attended the committee meeting on November 24 and he has agreed to give us some cost estimates to complete a shoulder improvement / pedestrian walkway from Fiddlers Lane to the bottom of the hill past Salmon Bay Road at no cost to BPOA. We will then have some numbers to approach the Township with and hopefully find a way to get the project moving forward. Thomas is doing work for a number of residents along Birchview Road and believes, as we all do, that we need to do something soon or we will have a fatality or serious injury on Birchview Road. For those of you who do not know Thomas Tooke, he was previously with Drain Bros before starting his own business and is currently doing the sewer and watermain work at Lilacs in Lakefield as well as shoreline work, property clearing, septic systems, driveways, etc for those that need such work. If you do need his services, you can reach him at tookeconstructionservices@gmail.com. We all owe Thomas a big thank you for doing this on our behalf.

As Douro-Dummer Township moves into the budget process, the committee organized a meeting with our elected officials to initiate some planning for inclusions in the budget. Heather Watson and Shelagh Landsman were invited to attend the meeting on December 10 and Heather attended along with the other committee members. Some of the takeaways from the meeting were as follows: (1) Council would consider designating Birchview Road as a "Community Safety Zone" where speeding infractions would have their fines doubled. (2) Heather would introduce Bruce to the new Roads Superintendent and they could take a road trip and look at all the blind hills and blind corners to see if there was something we could do within the roads budget to enhance safety for pedestrians. (3) Heather would consult with the Building Superintendent to see if parking plans for construction trucks could be included in the building permit process. (4) Heather would bring up the possibility of having more frequent grass cutting in the summer months on the shoulders of Birchview Road during the budget process. (5) Jim agreed to ask BPOA members if they could instruct their grass cutters and other property maintenance contractors to park in driveways and not on the road.

Dog Control Bylaw:

Council recently passed a bylaw intended to clearly outline property owners responsibilities for dog control with particular attention to "biting dogs". As you may know, we have had a recent dog attack incident with serious injuries to both the dog and the Birchview resident who was walking her dog on Birchview Road. We also have had previous incidents of dog attacks on pedestrians along Birchview Road. Your Board had Zoom meetings to discuss the draft bylaw and Jeff Chalmers made a presentation on our behalf at the Council meeting to discuss our suggestions to improve the draft bylaw on January 5. The bylaw that was passed is posted on  the Douro-Dummer website for your information. The Township staff will be putting together a "Coles Notes" version of the bylaw to be used as a marketing information piece for the general public so that we all understand our responsibilities for dogs on our properties, whether they are our pets or whether they are dogs owned by visiting family, friends or renters.

Other:

John McGregor continues to serve as our representative on the Alliance of Local Cottager Associations. Bill Ratcliff continues to serve on the Environment Council for Clear, Stoney, and White Lakes. Jeff Chalmers is our Lake Steward and is in the planning stage for this summers' water testing with KLSA. Thanks to these 3 guys for volunteering their time for the benefit of BPOA members.

You should have recently received your invoice for the 2021 membership dues and we would appreciate your early renewal. If you have any new neighbours, please encourage them to join. Get their contact info and send to Bill Ratcliff.

On behalf of your Board of Directors.